Are you frustrated with the high cost of filament for your 3D printer? Do you desire the ability to produce filament on demand, as it is needed, in the color and size appropriate for your 3D project? The Filastruder filament extruder meets these needs and more, because it is a filament-making machine. The reason for starting this project is simple - raw plastic pellets are cheap costing only a few dollars per kg, while filament for 3D printers is much more expensive - $30/kg and more.

Features:

Aluminum Alloy Chassis - Gone are the days of wooden Filastruders! The backbone of a Filastruder filament extruder is now made out of CNC'ed 6061 alloy, improving both ease of assembly and durability.

Upgraded motor - (Model: GF45) This motor is roughly 200% more powerful than the v1.0-1.1 motor. It is 100% more powerful than the v1.2-1.5 series, and 50% more powerful than the v1.6 series. It is also a different style of motor, with better quality internals and easily replaceable brushes.

Advanced motor control - The voltage (speed) and current (torque) can now be controlled via a closed loop PWM controller. This controller also displays the input voltage, motor voltage, motor current, and motor power (load). For example, as the melt filter nozzle starts to become clogged, the motor current increases, which is displayed on the LCD. Additionally when trying new polymers, you can start the speed out slow and watch the current, changing temperature as you dial in the best parameters for that particular plastic.

Lasercut enclosure with cooling fan - All Filastruder 2.0 filament extruder kits now come with a laser cut enclosure. This enclosure is not structural, just cosmetic, meaning it can be modified by the end user if desired without compromising strength. The enclosure also has active cooling via a 60mm fan for the PID controller and motor.

Upgraded hopper - The original Filastruder Hopper was remixed into a 2-part design by imageit, who added threads as well for a standard soda bottle to be threaded in. This part is used with permission by the author, and I added some small tweaks to wall thickness to make it a bit stronger.

Upgraded, fully insulated barrel - The cutout to the barrel has been reshaped to improve barrel torsional strength while still maintaining smooth pellet feeding, resulting in a reduced tendency for the barrel to be damaged by overload. The barrel is now fully insulated to improve throughput and polymer mixing.

Melt filter nozzle - This was originally an option on Filastruder filament extruder Kits, not the included in the kit. Demand is now such that it can be included by default without significantly increasing price, which is great! The melt filter nozzle prevents any particles larger than 200 um from passing through into the filament. As a result, filament produced through a melt filter nozzle is free of any dirt or debris that would otherwise clog a 3D printer's hotend.

Redesigned filament guide - In the spirit of no more wooden chassis, the filament guide was redesigned. It now uses a low friction PTFE guide in place of the previous copper guide. The guide bracket is laser cut and attaches to the barrel. It can be slid backwards and forwards to adjust the position relative to the nozzle.

Simpler assembly:Another thing to be excited about is simpler assembly. With Filastruder 2.0 filament extruder, the only tools necessary are:

- Screwdriver - Pliers - Allen wrenches - Wire stripper/crimper tool

Previously things like a pipe wrench, a drill, and a set of files were needed. No more! We deburr the barrel and tighten it into the flange for you, a step that caused some folks difficulty with v1.x kits. These changes have been largely due to feedback from users ranging from the weekend hobbyist to Fortune 500 companies, and I am grateful for their suggestions. PLA requires a little more care. The Filastruder extrudes it fine, but you have to make sure to completely dry the polymer before extruding. PLA also needs a lot of cooling, and ideally a winder like this one. Our users report +/-0.03mm tolerances with only moderate drying. Here's one user's experience with both ABS and PLA.How it works:.

After setting the desired temperature for extrusion and allowing time to warm up, fill the hopper with pellets and colorant of your choice, and turn on the gearmotor. Plastic will begin extruding from the Filastruder filament extruder, forming a pile on the floor to be spooled up later. The resulting filament can be wound onto a spool quickly and easily using a normal hand drill, or through a Filawinder.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Nozzles and filament sizes:

As seen above, the Filastruder comes with one of three types of nozzles: undrilled (you can drill this to the size you prefer), drilled for 1.75mm, and drilled for 3.0mm. You can order more nozzles from the "Spare Parts" section above. Note that for use with printers having a nozzle size 0.5mm or smaller, it is recommended that a melt filter nozzle is used with the Filastruder to remove any dust/debris from the polymer.

What about ABS/PLA/HDPE/LDPE/TPE/Nylon/other crazy polymers?

ABS works really well in the Filastruder filament extruder. Generally +/-0.02mm tolerances are no problem with a winder, or +/-0.05mm without. The majority of people seem to use 1.75mm filament, so the tolerances reported are typically for that size.

To our knowledge, other polymers have not been tested. No reason they shouldn't work, though. Some polymers release toxic fumes at their extrusion temperatures, so be sure to read the MSDS for any polymer you try! Do not use PVC or other chlorine-based polymers!

What about recycling old prints?

There's a few hurdles in recycling printed plastic. They are as follows:

Shredding/cutting the prints into pellets. The Filastruder filament extruder needs chunks of plastic that are no larger than 5mm on any side.

Contaminants. Any dirt or dust you get on your print, ends up in your filament. Same for whatever method you use to cut/shred your prints - any metal debris you get in the shredded plastic ends up in filament.

Heat history. The more you heat cycle a polymer, the weaker it gets as each heat cycle breaks the polymer chains. You will want to mix in virgin material to maintain strength.

As far as contaminants, this should be a non-issue if you wash and dry the plastic, and use the melt filter we provide on the site. The other two issues are left up to the user. There are some hobbyist shredders beginning to be made, but we have no experience with them.

Assembly instructions:

History:

The Filastruder filament extruder was first beta tested by 16 users. They loved it, so we launched on Kickstarter where we were joined by 875 backers. (thanks again, guys!) We fulfilled all of the Kickstarter kits, and move on to online sales, taking orders and saving you money! Here's a short version of the Kickstarter video:

Setting Expectations:

The Filastruder filament extruder takes 2-3 hours to assemble. At-home polymer extrusion is certainly in its infancy; while the Filastruder has been tested by thousands of users and run for hundreds of thousands of hours, there is a learning curve involved that is similar to 3D Printing. Be sure to read the cautions and warnings in the assembly instructions before use. The Filastruder is targeted to makers and tinkerers, the types of people that have used basic hand tools and have performed electromechanical wiring/assembly before. However, there is a very active community on our forum, located here: